At Eastwind Abrasives, we like it that way.

When you think about it, it’s perfectly logical. As the hardest naturally occurring mineral, diamond powder is the perfect solution when you need to polish or grind with greater power and efficiency. Every day, people around the world make use of diamond powder.

Many grinding tools use diamond powder coatings to give them added strength and power.

For example, if you scratched the windshield or mirror of your car – you might be able to use diamond powder to remove the scratch, as glass is one of the substrates that benefit from diamond powder the most. Not only does this offer a simple solution, but it also helps you save money by not having to completely replace your windshield.

Or for another example, consider for a moment all of the “antique” programs you see on television. Every one of them shows antique shop and pawn shop owners selling their priceless finds for large amounts of money. Chances are that many of the pieces they sell were once terribly tarnished and scratched, apart from specialty cloths and chemicals – diamond powders are one resource that they frequently take advantage of to restore their antiques to a more flawless finish.

But how is diamond powder created?

To move from “whole diamond” to “diamond powder” a lapidary uses the process called micronization. Micronization takes place when a special fluid or gas is used to break down and render solid diamonds into a powdered form. While the process involves a bit more than simply “crushing” the diamonds into a fine dust, the results it yields are pretty amazing.

The micronization process as a whole produces a large number of tiny diamond grains of the same size – measured in microns. To add a little perspective to the tiny measurement, one micron is equal to one millionth of a meter, a tiny speck barely visible to the naked eye. Using this system, diamond powder is measured by how coarse or fine its particles are, and how the different levels of coarseness produce wildly varying results.

Typically, diamond powder can be as small as 1/10^th micron to 250 microns, with extreme attention paid to ensuring that the diamond dust particle are all the same size. This is because diamond grains shaped differently than the majority of the powder can scratch a material when the intent is to actually polish it.

So as you can see, diamonds are actually much more than “forever” as the popular slogan says. Diamonds turned to dust may not become a family heirloom, but they live on in the impact they make on virtually everything they touch.

Click here to learn more about diamond powder, or contact us today!

It might not seem obvious, but did you realize that only about 20% of the diamonds actually mined are used for jewelry? About 80% of the diamonds mined are not suitable for use as jewelry. They may be unclear, totally opaque, or too small – but those are hardly flaws in the eyes of the industrial market.

The market for industrial diamond abrasives and diamond powder is much different than the gem aspect of the diamond market. We still value diamonds very highly here at Eastwind Abrasives. Except in our case, while many may value diamonds for their “shinier” qualities like clarity and color, we prefer to appreciate how extremely hard and strong they are.

Why Diamond Powder?

Diamond powder is often referred to as a super-abrasive while materials like pumice and sand are considered “regular” abrasives. This is because the hardness of diamond is on an entirely different level when compared to sand and other synthetic abrasives. As a super abrasive, diamond powder is capable of cutting, polishing and grinding materials that would otherwise prove extremely difficult to work with.

So what is diamond powder for?

When diamond powder is used, it is typically for cutting and grinding materials like glass, ceramic, tiles, and other gemstones. To cut these materials, diamond powder is bonded to materials like the drill or saw – allowing more accurate and effective cutting or grinding with something a now diamond covered drill bit, saw, or sander

On the opposite end of the spectrum, when diamond powder is used for polishing it is applied to the material with as little as a cloth, which is then used to polish away scratches and abrasions. This has allowed car service centers to remove scratches from windshields, shine priceless antique collectibles, and professionally polish other diamonds and gemstones.

So as you can see, while the diamonds that go into making diamond powder might not be the picture of luxury you typically expect from diamonds (in the more popular sense), diamond in the form of powder is capable of achieving some truly remarkable results.

To learn more about diamond abrasives or diamond powders and how they might be able to help in your industrial grinding, sanding, and polishing applications — don’t hesitate to call us today.

We will be consistently updating our site with links, articles, and blog posts about what we do, who we are, and (occasionally) why it might be interesting to someone who knows nothing about diamond abrasives. Depending on which platform you like the best, keep your eye on this blog, our twitter page, our Facebook page, and our tumblr  page to stay up to date.

At any given moment, there’s a good chance that you have the opportunity to watch a sporting event unfolding on television, Typically it’s, football or baseball, but on some occasions you get the special opportunity to witness a surfing competition.

Eastwind Abrasives has provided diamond abrasives for many clients, including a surfboard shaper in California who needed the perfect abrasive discs to give his surfboards the glassy finish he needed“The Eddie,” a big wave surfing competition only held when wave faces in Waimea Bay, Hawaii reach a minimum of 30 feet. In either case, the level ofprecision and quality available in modern surfboards continues to push the sport forward – and better materials and tools have enabled surfers to accomplish more than they ever thought possible in the water.

While surfing contests are a testament to phenomenal athleticism and skill, one of the undeniable unsung heroes of the sport is the surfboard. At the same time, it’s also the tools used by surfboard shapers that help make modern surfboard shaping the high precision art it is today.

In the past, Eastwind Abrasives has had the opportunity to contribute to this sport, all the way from Vermont. For example, when one of our clients in California was researching materials for his own line of surfboards, he contacted us for advice on the best abrasives to use. Ultimately, after some consultation, we supplied him with 8” resin bond disks in various mesh/micron sizes along with resin bond hand pads s to help him shape his boards and produce the smooth glassy finish he needed.

For years, surfboards have been shaped with a variety of tools, including foam planers, calipers, and sanders – but that is not to say that innovation hasn’t allowed the sport to achieve a higher level of precision and performance.

One of these tools has turned out to be resin bond disks and diamond abrasives. Before and after “glassing” the surfboard with the resin that will form it’s hard outer shell, abrasives like resin bond disks play a major role in effectively working out imperfections and sanding away excess resin without gouging or damaging the finished product. By taking advantage of diamond abrasives, surfboard shapers get the clean, attractive, and hydro-dynamic glass-like surface they need with sanding materials that work more efficiently and last longer.

So what are resin bond discs?

Resin bond discs are coated in micron-grade diamonds secured to a tough and durable resin, which is in turn connected to an aluminum plate or a foam hand plate, providing a much more powerful option for surfboard shapers around the world.

After the outline of an unfinished board, known as the blank, is finished. The shaper then goes over the board with a power planer to give its surfaces the contours it needs. After shaping with a hand planer, the board’s surfaces are sanded with  sand paper to give it the smooth and even surface it needs. However, recently sand paper has been replaced more often by diamond abrasives, which allow greater efficiency and longevity.

Because of this, shapers that create a large number of surfboards have found that diamond abrasives (like resin bond disks) have been an ideal innovation.  At the same time, not all shaping allows the use of power tools for sanding. Sometimes shapers need more precision and control. For this there are also abrasive hand pads for finishing and polishing surfaces quickly, effectively, and carefully.  Because these hand pads are geared towards hand-use, they have a foam backing that allows them to easily conform to the sides, or the rails, of the surfboard. This makes hand sanding the surfboard faster, more effective, and much easier.

So as you can see, quite a lot goes into the creation of the surfboards you see at the local beach and on TV, whether they are ridden by professionals charging massive walls of water the size of a house or everyday surfers around the world. From our position in beautiful Vermont, all of us at Eastwind Abrasives are proud to have contributed in some way to a sport that makes the most of nature.

The very first recorded use of sandpaper dates all the way back to the 13^th century China where shells, sand, and seeds were combined on paper using natural gum. In theory, the formulation that resulted is not much different than what we use today. However, sandpaper and abrasives are not limited to “sand”. In fact, even sharkskin with its rough scales was used a kind of “sand paper”. This simply goes to show that the world of abrasives varies wildly, with different types of abrasives existing to suit all kinds of uses around the world.

In the past, true sandpaper was made of sand (Quartz) which gave way to flint, and eventually garnet sandpaper. Garnet  (which is still available today), is harder and sharper than Quartz – giving it the ability to last longer and cut through a surface (typically wood) without scratching it too deeply.

A more modern material widely used today is an abrasive by the name of corundum. Corundum is extremely sharp, hard, and brittle – enabling it to cut, fracture into sharp fragments, and continue cutting. Today, it is used for materials including wood, paint, plastic, metal, and more. Most sanding products today use some form of artificial corundum, more commonly known as aluminum oxide.

But Diamonds make the difference…

However, while corundum is ranked a 9 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, diamond abrasives take the cake with a rating of 10 when it comes to hardness. The hardness of diamonds is so effective when it comes to sanding, grinding, and polishing that diamond abrasives are, surprisingly, a large part of the world diamond market. Diamond abrasive discs, pads, and belts are available from Eastwind Abrasives in varying sizes and constructions to be used as part of power sanding tools or by hand.

The benefits of diamond abrasives are many: diamond abrasives can be used wet for an extremely smooth finish, diamond abrasive discs allow for aggressive grinding and polishing results, diamond abrasives do not develop notches or jagged edges that will nick or damage the surface during polishing. Additionally, diamond abrasive polishing and grinding tools will work on even the toughest surfaces, including various metals and stones

So as you can see, diamonds are used for far more than to simply bring sparkle to the hand, neck, or ears of a loved one. In fact, they have a similar effect on many of the things you use and come into contact with every day, adding the shine, smoothness, and polish you’ve come to expect.

If you have a need for diamond abrasives, all of us at Eastwind Abrasives would be happy to discuss your project and the options that might be best for you. So please don’t hesitate to contact us for assistance.